Tired of squinting and struggling to see while you’re out on the water? Polarized fishing sunglasses could be just what you need.
These sunglasses can be very useful when you’re dealing with a high level of glare. Keep reading to learn more about polarized sunglasses and your options for fishing and water activities.
At a Glance
- Polarized sunglasses work to reduce horizontal glare, which is common around bodies of water. This is why they’re often recommended for fishing.
- Polarization is great in high-glare situations. However, it’s not as ideal for indoor/outdoor wear or lower-light situations.
- Fishing enthusiasts often recommend polarized sunglasses by Oakley, Smith, or Maui Jim.
What Are Polarized Sunglasses?
Polarized sunglasses have a special filter that blocks horizontal glare. In some situations, the polarization reduces light too much, making it hard to see screens.
However, polarization can be helpful or even essential in situations with a high amount of glare. Because light reflects off water, activities like fishing, boating, or other water sports often fall into this category.
Polarization is also great for bringing out details when looking in or near water. By limiting the horizontal light, you can better see what’s going on in the water.
What Are the Top Polarized Sunglasses for Fishing?
Fishing fans have a variety of opinions when it comes to the best polarized fishing sunglasses.
I went to Reddit to see what real fishing enthusiasts had to say about these sunglasses. Here are some of the brands that kept coming up:
Oakley
This brand is very popular with Redditors. In particular, people who love to fish often recommend sunglasses made with Oakley Deep Water Prizm lenses. These are made especially for fishing, boating, and other water activities.
Deep Water Prizm’s visible light transmission, or VLT, is 12 percent. This is considered ideal for very bright situations, like being on a boat on a sunny day. (Keep in mind that a light transmission of 12 percent may be too dark if you go fishing on a gray or overcast day.) The HDPolarization and mirror coating also work to block the harsh glare from the water on sunny days.
Deep Water Prizm lenses are found in several Oakley sunglasses that are popular with fishing enthusiasts. It’s important to note that most of these sunglasses also come with other lens options.
If you’re shopping on EZContacts and want the Deep Water Prizm lenses, be sure to click the drop-down menu and select one of those choices.
Here are some of the options to try out:
- Oakley SPLIT SHOT OO9416. These rectangular glasses have wide, wraparound lenses and snug temples. They help the glasses stay on your head while you reel in a fish.
- Oakley OO9307 TURBINE ROTOR. These shield sunglasses create an unbroken visual field in the front, with thick rims to block additional light on the sides. The Polished Black is available with a Prizm Deep Water lens.
- Oakley RADAR EV PATH OO9208. This is another pair of shield-style sunglasses with wide lenses that wrap around. The Matte Black, Matte Black Camo, and Matte Grey Ink come with Prizm Deep Water lenses.
These glasses all have high overall ratings, and many reviewers mentioned how well they work for fishing.
Reviewer Alan P. thought the SPLIT SHOT shades were great for fishing and boating.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Love these sunglasses, the fit is excellent, Would definitely recommend these for boating and fishing.”
An anonymous user also found the Turbine Rotor ideal for spotting fish in the water.
Great pair of sunglasses
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“I love these glasses. They wrap around and give great coverage in sun with polorized ability to see the fish. I will order a second pair soon.”
Smith
This is another brand that’s mentioned frequently in social media threads about fishing and eyewear.
Smith’s ChromaPop™ Glass PolarChromic lenses use both polarization and self-tint-adjusting PhotoChromic tech, so they adjust to changes in light. This is handy if you don’t want to have to swap out your sunglasses when there’s cloud cover.
Smith has a wide range of fishing sunglasses available. The Smith Guides Choice sunglasses are one of the most popular models. These rectangular sunglasses are similar in style to the Oakley SPLIT SHOT style, with large lenses and thick rims and temples.
The Smith Bayside sunglasses are another great choice. The Polarized Green CP L7 lens offers high contrast and is popular for fishing and other water activities.
Maui Jim
The name Maui Jim comes up a lot in fishing forums due to the brand’s wide variety of sunglasses with polarized lenses. Here are a few models to consider:
- Maui Jim Kipahulu. These sunglasses feature a wraparound design, but they’re not huge. The HCL Bronze lens has PolarizedPlus2® Technology, which cuts 99 percent of glare.
- Maui Jim Local Kine. This pair features a rectangular frame with wraparound MAUIGreen lenses and chunky temples. They’re designed to improve contrast in very bright conditions.
- Maui Jim ‘OLU’OLU. This model offers the HCL Bronze lens in a pretty cat-eye shape. It’s ideal when you want to look more stylish on the water, but still need a lens that cuts glare.
FAQs
What’s the best polarized lens for shallow water fishing?
Oakley offers a Prizm Shallow Water lens that’s recommended for inlet or freshwater fishing. Popular with anglers, the Shallow Water lens also works well on overcast days and gets high ratings for clarity and contrast. You can get it in the Oakley Split Shot; just select the Matte Black/Prizm Shallow Water option.
Do you need polarized and non-polarized sunglasses?
It’s a good idea to keep a non-polarized pair on hand for lower light situations. You never know when the weather is going to change out on the water.
